Race Report: GHS Swamp Rabbit Half Marathon

I set my sights on this race back in early December as my "get back to pre-baby shape" race, specifically for the half marathon. At the time, my mileage was right where it needed to be after doing the Croft Trail Half Marathon in November, but my speed was still lacking. I laid out my training plan with time to spare (I tend to start training plans a few weeks late) but I had everything ready and was feeling confident about my chances to get back into decent shape & speed.

The first half of training went really well, pretty much exactly according to plan. I was afraid I'd set myself up to peak too early and get distracted by doing the Yeti or Not 25k Trail Run at the beginning of February. The weeks following that race did not go according to plan, I've missed a lot of runs, and oh there was that trip to Spain 2 weeks ago where I PR'd at the Barcelona Half Marathon by 1 second.

So that brings us to this weekend.

Pre-race
In the days leading up to the race, I felt confident. My time at Barcelona gave me the assurance that I was certainly physically capable of a PR, and I had the added benefit of being at home on a normal sleeping and eating schedule. A small kink in the plan came about Thursday night when D woke up at 12:30am wheezing and unable to breathe properly, so we spent the next ~5 hours at the Emergency Room, and Friday we worked from home/caught up on sleep. So much for things going according to plan! (He's fine now, btw).

Still, Friday night was good - easy packet pick-up during the day, pasta for dinner, decent bedtime, and an alarm set for 6 a.m. to get me to the start line in plenty of time.

Had yogurt & granola for breakfast, pre-race poop right on schedule before I left the house (this is always a noteworthy accomplishment), and got to the race start with about 15 mins to spare. I'd opted not to warm up before the race since the first few miles were slightly hilly and the temperatures were plenty warm. Definitely a change from the last time I ran this race 2 years ago when it was 11 degrees at the start!

Start line!

I lined up right near the 1:45 pacer, fully intending to stick with him through the first ~8 miles of the race, then pull ahead if I felt good.

Pacer Greg

The Race

My plan to stick with the 1:45 pacer lasted approximately 100 yards into the race, when I turned a corner and pulled ahead of him on a hill. I never saw him again.

The first couple of miles of the race are the "hilly"miles. I say that as a purely relative term, because this course is flat (actually, it's a net downhill). According to Garmin, there are 300 feet of elevation gain, and 500 feet of elevation loss. I felt good through the hills, no desire to slow down or really feel any push to get up them. The long stretch on Highway 276 wasn't thrilling but thankfully it was short-lived and we hopped onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail at about the 3.5mi mark.

The next miles passed quickly. I run this trail so frequently that it felt just like another weekend long run... except thankfully I didn't have the stroller and I was running much faster than I would usually do a long run! I felt good through the middle miles and ate some gummies around mile 7.

I was glad I decided to wear my hydration vest because it was so nice to not have to worry about water stops and strategically plan my water intake. Plus being able to breeze around the crowds at the water tables was an added benefit!

I started to struggle around Mile 9. I was tired, and I started to have doubts about being able to hold the pace for the rest of the race, much less give an extra push to the finish like I'd planned. I realized, however, that since I was ahead of the pacer, I didn't have to push extra to the finish if I didn't want to. I felt like a PR was pretty much in the bag as long as I held steady, so I focused on that.

I ate the rest of my gummies over the next couple of miles, and by Mile 11 I really felt like I was toast. My legs were tired, my feet hurt, and I started to have the thoughts of "ugh, I don't even want  to PR, I just want to stop and walk." But with it so close, I kept pushing onward.

The Mile 12 sign came up and I thought "OK, this is it... just drive it to the finish. DO IT." I passed one spectator who encouraged me, "Go catch a few, you can do it." So I did... I think I passed at least 5 people in the last mile. According to my splits, I wasn't any faster during that last mile than the previous few, but it felt like I was working SO much harder.

Shocking consistency

I sprinted for the finish line as soon as it was in sight, and crossed the line with the finish clock reading something that started with a 1:42:xx! 😵

Finish line sprint!

YESSSS

Shiny new PR

Official race results say gun time of 01:42:33 / chip time of  01:42:15.

1:42:15 (7:49/mi average pace)

I was 12th of 115 in my age group, and 170 of 1315 overall.

YES!

Post-race recovery included a group breakfast at Tommy's Country Ham House. Most excellent.